AOW, AOV and tax on Sint Eustatius: accrual stops, the pension travels with you and the island taxes without surcharges

For the SVB and the Tax Administration Sint Eustatius is abroad; for constitutional law it is the Netherlands. Out of that split comes the same surprisingly favourable picture as on Bonaire, with its own figures: a full AOV pension of $ 1,563 a month, a tax-free allowance of USD 21,956, a property tax without surcharges, and two sharp edges you work out before leaving.

Accrual stops, the pension travels first class

Whoever moves to Statia is no longer AOW-insured: the Caribbean part of the Kingdom counts for the SVB as living outside the Netherlands. In its place begins the Caribbean AOV, same system, separate pot: insured between fifteen and 65, with a pension age of 65 and a reduction of 2% for every calendar year you were not insured. The full AOV pension differs per island: on Sint Eustatius $ 1,563 a month in 2026, with the so-called cost-of-living supplement for the Windward Islands built in; the table of the RCN unit SZW also lists a Windward Islands allowance of $ 60 and a partner allowance of $ 713. Whoever crosses after part of a working life therefore ends up with two half basic pensions. Voluntary AOW insurance is possible, provided you submit the application to the SVB within one year of departure.

The benefit side is the windfall: whoever lives on Bonaire, Sint Eustatius or Saba is, under the export decree, entitled to old-age pension as if living in the Netherlands. The accrued AOW therefore travels along in full, including the single-person rate.

Who taxes: the country of residence, at the BES rate

Between the European and the Caribbean Netherlands there is no tax treaty but the Tax Regulation for the Country of the Netherlands. Article 2.9 assigns pensions, annuities and social security benefits to the country of residence: Sint Eustatius. The 2026 figures are the same for the three islands and stand on one page of the Tax Administration Caribbean Netherlands:

Item (2026)	Amount or rate
Tax-free allowance	USD 21,956
Elderly supplement on top of the tax-free allowance	USD 1,678
Income tax up to and including USD 53,198 taxable sum	29.4%
Income tax above that	38.4%
AOV premium	25% on at most USD 38,390
AWW premium (survivors)	1.3% on at most USD 38,390
Full AOV pension Sint Eustatius	$ 1,563 a month, cost-of-living supplement included
AOV partner allowance Sint Eustatius	$ 713 a month; income limit USD 22,811
AOV reduction per uninsured year	2%
Property tax on a second home on Sint Eustatius	0.7% of the value; no surcharges (Bonaire: 0.91%)

Two exceptions to the country-of-residence rule: remuneration paid by the State, such as an ABP pension from government service, remains taxed in the Netherlands under article 2.10, and if a pension or annuity is surrendered before its start date, the source country may also tax it. One detail for whoever buys a house: mortgage interest is deductible only at 29.4%, even if your income falls in the higher bracket.

Assets have their own surprise: box 3 does not exist in the Caribbean Netherlands. Only real estate that is not your main residence falls under the property tax, a levy of 17.5% on a notional benefit of 4% of the value, and here Statia differs from Bonaire: the Tax Administration writes that on Saba and Sint Eustatius no surcharges are calculated, so the effective rate stays at 0.7% where Bonaire has been at 0.91% since 2020. The home you live in yourself is exempt on all three islands; how that works out on buying is covered separately.

The sharp edge: the protective assessment

Here the island's status bites. The Tax Administration grants automatic deferral for the protective assessment on your pension and annuity accrual only on emigration to an EU or EEA country; Sint Eustatius is not one, so you apply for deferral yourself, and on emigration to a non-EU country the Tax Administration can demand security, for instance a bank guarantee, a mortgage right or a pledge. For most emigrants it stays paperwork; whoever has a large pension or a substantial interest works this out with a tax adviser before leaving. The fixed rules still apply: ten years without forbidden acts such as surrender, then remission on request.

Two clocks in the first year. The voluntary AOW insurance must be applied for within one year of departure, and the protective assessment comes after the M return for your year of departure. Whoever leaves both until "once everything is settled" misses the first and is startled by the second.

What do you arrange on the island itself?

The tax return does not run through DigiD but through MijnCN, the portal of the Tax Administration Caribbean Netherlands, with the CRIB number created after your registration. The office on Statia is on H.M. Queen Beatrix Road in Oranjestad and is open on working days from 9 to 13, an hour shorter than on Bonaire; by phone it can be reached until 16. Whoever takes a job also reads what the island lacks in safety net, because the minimum wage of $ 10.61 an hour is also the yardstick the IND applies.

In Vertrekklaar this is phase 2 of 5 of the journey, step 2.2: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See the whole journey to Sint Eustatius or go straight to step 2.2 in the open plan.